Iran President: Terrorism derived from Wahhabism, Salafism

Stressing that the Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great weight to its relations with neighbouring countries, President Rouhani said: "The Republic of Azerbaijan has a special place in this regard".

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Stressing that the Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great weight to its relations with neighbouring countries, President Rouhani said: "The Republic of Azerbaijan has a special place in this regard".

Speaking at the meeting of high-ranking delegations of Iran and Azerbaijan on Sunday in Tehran, Dr Rouhani continued: "There is no obstacle on the path of developing Tehran-Baku ties".

The Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan directly support deepening Tehran-Baku ties, said President Rouhani adding: "Fortunately in recent years, Iran and Azerbaijan ties have been growing constantly and today, there is a good groundwork for further developing these relations".

Referring to common beliefs and historical ties, as well as common interests as solid bases for developing Tehran-Baku ties in all fields, he said: "The Republic of Azerbaijan is a gate for Iran to connect to Caucasus and Europe, and Iran is a very good gate for connecting the Republic of Azerbaijan to southern regions, Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean".

He also appreciated efforts by the joint commission of ambassadors of the two countries and said: "In the field of transportation and transit, we are witnessing that good steps have been taken. The Astara-Astara railroad was a very important step in doing so".

It is very important the various sectors of the two countries such as industry, agriculture, public relations, universities, tourism, and banks develop relations, said Rouhani adding: "The central banks of the two countries had good understandings with each other and we hope to witness further development of these ties".

President Rouhani also underscored promotion of relations between border provinces of the two countries and said: "Free zones can create a good opportunity for developing relations in border areas".

He also referred to the Caspian Sea and the issues related to it and said that all countries bordering the sea must cooperate with each other to determine the legal regime.

On energy, he said that the joint project of car manufacture and medicine production in Azerbaijan are good steps in developing industrial and medical cooperation.

Iran and Azerbaijan have common views in most regional and international issues, said Rouhani adding: "We consider terrorism a great danger to the region and we believe that it will not be resolved through military ways, but rather its ideas must be eradicated".

Terrorism has derived from Wahhabism and Salafism, continued the President. He also said: "Iran and Azerbaijan must boost cooperation in fighting terrorism in the region".

"It is a wrong and useless idea that some countries think that they can use terrorism as a means to put their own regional policies into action," Dr Rouhani added.

On Syria and Iraq, the President said: "Iraq's security has effects on other countries of the region and we must help this country in combatting terrorism".

"With the new measures taken by Iran, Russian and Turkey in settling the Syrian issues, we hope to witness durable peace in the country through Syrian-Syrian dialogue," the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran continued saying.

At the same meeting, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev also said: "We are proud of deepening and cementing ties with Tehran".

Praising Iran's regional and international policies in fighting terrorism, he said: "We are happy that today, Iran, Russia and Turkey have found a common way to resolve the Syrian issue and it can be a very good model for regional cooperation".